Is Bhayshul Tuten A Sleeper RB To Target In Fantasy Football?
Fantasy

Is Bhayshul Tuten A Sleeper RB To Target In Fantasy Football?

Ian Hartitz breaks down the Jacksonville Jaguars backfield and if Bhayshul Tuten is an RB to target for fantasy football.

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A year ago, we liked Bhayshul Tuten as a late-round rookie who could take over a backfield late in the season. Travis Etienne had other ideas, and Tuten was relegated to the bench more time than those hopeful fantasy managers had hoped going into the season. Now are we ready for the Tuten Takeover 2.0? Only this time, he has a clearer path to leading the team in carries. Ian Hartitz breaks it down as part of his Jacksonville Jaguars Team Preview. 

Is it Bhayshul Tuten RB1 szn?

Many fantasy nerds and virgins were hoping that Bhayshul Tuten would yank away the starting job from Travis Etienne in Year 1, but that simply never wound up being the case. Now, injuries in Week 11 (ankle) and Week 15 (hand/finger) didn't help Tuten's case, but the Virginia Tech product also didn't exactly make the most out of his opportunities on the ground (3.7 yards per carry).

That said: Lifting up the hood a bit on Tuten's season reveals more reason for optimism.

Bhayshul Tuten among 55 RBs with 75+ carries in 2025 (including playoffs):

  • Rushing success rate: 48.3% (3rd)
  • Yards after contact per carry: 3.3 (12th)
  • Tackles avoided per carry: 21.8% (10th)

He also proved to be a capable pass catcher, turning 14 targets into a season-long 10-79-2 receiving line. While the explosive plays were lacking, it sure looks like Tuten is shot out of a cannon every time he touches the ball. After all, the man ran a 4.32-second 40-yard dash at the combine. Small sample size is probably the main story here.

Of course, the presence of Liam Coen's old friend Chris Rodriguez complicates matters. The ex-Commander is mostly viewed as a short-yardage grinder—and his elite success rate (48.2%, 4th!) does reflect the reality that he's quite good at this—but the former sixth-rounder also showed off some surprisingly solid vision and agility as the Commanders' primary ballcarrier in 2025.

C-Rod's two-year, $10 million deal isn't exactly Saquon-level, but it is in the same range as guys like Rico Dowdle and Jordan Mason, who are fully expected to function as 1B options in their respective offenses. It's very possible a similar role is on the table for Rodriguez, assuming his left foot injury doesn't become a problem (the Jaguars expect him to be ready for training camp).

This brings us back to the central question: Is it Tuten RB1 szn? The bear and bull cases…

  • Glass-half-full: Tuten is essentially this year's 2024/2025 Chase Brown, and Rodriguez is 2024 Zack Moss or 2025 Samaje Perine. While the Jaguars refrain from feeding him 300+ carries, there's still more than enough volume—especially in the passing game—to return legit RB1 fantasy production inside a really good offense.
  • Glass-half-empty: Tuten leads the way … but as a dreaded between-the-20s option. Rodriguez gets the fantasy-friendly goal-line work, and LeQuint Allen (a SAVAGE in pass protection) is more involved than expected on passing downs. Nobody winds up working as a consistent top-24 option in fantasy land despite the offense still performing well.

Maybe it's the optimist in me, but I'm leaning toward the former outcome here. Reading between the lines with the Jaguars only adding a cheaper early-down veteran sure makes it seem like Tuten is in line to inherit the majority of ETN's vacated 296 touches from a season ago. The rising second-year back's RB25 (pick 56) ADP sure seems closer to the floor than the ceiling, and positive coach speak/training camp reports could result in an August ascension a la 2025 TreVeyon Henderson. I'm tied for the highest Fantasy Life Ranker on Tuten (RB21)—he's a particularly solid mid-round target for lineups that invested heavily at other positions in the early rounds.

Players Mentioned in this Article

  1. Bhayshul Tuten
    BhayshulTuten
    RBJACJAC
    PPG
    5.4
    Proj
    175.6
  2. Chris Rodriguez
    ChrisRodriguezQ
    RBJACJAC
    PPG
    7.5
    Proj
    93.7

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